Alice Tepper Marlin

Founder and President Emerita | New York, USA

Alice Tepper Marlin is the Founder and President Emerita of Social Accountability International. She has been a pioneer in the field of corporate social responsibility for half a century, introducing groundbreaking solutions to promote workers’ rights in corporate supply chains.

Tepper Marlin began her career as a Securities Analyst and Labor Economist at the investment banking firm Burnham & Co. in 1966. She designed and administered the first social investment portfolio management service and was one of the first women securities analysts on Wall Street. She also served as the editor of an international tax journal at the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation in the Netherlands.

In 1969, Tepper Marlin founded the Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) and served as its President and CEO for 33 years. CEP was a frontrunner in the social investment field and regularly published a bestselling consumer guide entitled Shopping for a Better World. In 1997, Tepper Marlin established Social Accountability International, convening a diverse group of stakeholders to promote decent work everywhere. She led SAI as its President and CEO, spearheading the development of the SA8000® Standard into the global social certification framework it is today. Tepper Marlin retired from SAI in 2015 and is currently a member of its Advisory Board and Board of Directors as well as a member of the Board of Social Accountability Accreditation Services.

Over several years, Tepper Marlin has served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Ethics at New York University Stern School of Business, which honored her as a Citi Distinguished Fellow in Ethics and Leadership in 2007. Tepper Marlin was named as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America in 2010 and has received the Right Livelihood Award and Adweek's Woman of the Year Award. She has been a frequent public speaker on corporate accountability for several decades, appearing on CNN, Good Morning America and the Today Show. She has been profiled in various newspapers and magazines, including People, Time, The New York Times, and Vogue.

Tepper Marlin earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Wellesley College in 1966 and has studied securities and accounting at New York University School of Business Administration. She received the Wellesley College Alumna Achievement Award in 1999.